Card package assembly and method

ABSTRACT

A card package assembly is disclosed having a carrier for holding a card, a card having a back surface which has account-related indicia thereon, the account-related indicia being concealed by a scratch-off material layer adhered to an inner region of the back surface of the card, wherein the scratch-off material is removable to reveal the indicia. A dry-release adhesive is used to adhere the elements of the assembly such that separation of the elements exposes the scratch-off material and prevents reassembling of the assembly using the same adhesive. A label is preferably attached to the back of the card having at least two layers, the scratch-off material being applied between the layers on the first layer covering the indicia. The two layers are adhered together using the dry-release adhesive, and the second layer is preferably adhered to the carrier via a high tack adhesive. A method for assembling the card package assembly by providing the elements described above is also disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to package assemblies for cardssuch as pre-paid account cards having indicia, and more specifically totamper resistant packaging for pre-paid account cards havingindentifying indicia.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Conventional pre-paid debit cards are increasingly available inretail stores. Such cards are associated with an account number, andoften include a personal identification number (“PIN”) for use by thepurchaser. Typically, such cards are activated at the check-out counterby the cashier.

[0003] Various means for packaging such cards have been developed. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,909 issued to Fiala et al. on Jul. 6, 1999,discloses a package for a card in which a magnetic stripe is positionedoutside an outer perimeter of the card. This configuration enables thecard to be activated by sweeping the magnetic stripe without removingthe card from the package.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,305 issued to Smith et al. on Jul. 7, 1998discloses a card package configuration in which an identification numberor bar code is exposed through a hole in the package to enable machinereading of the information at the check-out counter to activate theaccount. U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,381 issued to Stich et al. on Jun. 2, 1998,discloses a configuration for a card package in which the card issandwiched between panels of the package.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,832 issued to Longtin on Jun. 27, 1995discloses a card carrier which has a perforated portion such that theperforation must be torn in order to expose protected information on thecard.

[0006] The increase in retail sales of prepaid account cards has beenaccompanied by an increase in theft and misuse of information. Forexample, an individual can tamper with a packaged card on display,obtain a PIN or other account information, wait until the account isactivated when the card is purchased by a customer, and then make use ofthe PIN to utilize the account. Conventional packages for such cards arelacking in efficient tamper resistant abilities. Many conventionaldesigns use an adhesive which can be reapplied such that it is difficultto determine whether someone has tampered with a card package assembly.

[0007] Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an efficient,tamper-resistant package assembly for cards such as prepaid accountcards sold in retail stores.

SUMMARY

[0008] In view of the deficiencies described above, it is an object ofthe present invention to provide an improved card package assembly whichis efficient and includes tamper-resistant features.

[0009] In accordance with the above objectives, the present invention isa card package assembly comprising a carrier, such as a panel. The paneloptionally includes a hole for allowing it to be displayed on a storedisplay mounting. A card is adhered to the panel. As used herein, “card”refers to any physical form of media which contains information relatedto an account such as a prepaid account, debit account, phone card, giftcard, etc. The card contains account-related indicia, meaning somereadable account-related information which is intended to be protectedfrom view before the card is activated. Such information is eitherembossed onto, printed on, or otherwise affixed or integral with thecard.

[0010] In one embodiment, the account-related indicia is directly on thecard and concealed by scratch-off material. Scratch-off material is anysuitable material which conceals the information it covers, yet can beeasily removed using a fingernail or other relatively sharp edge of anobject. The back surface of the card is removably adhered to the frontsurface of the carrier via a dry-release adhesive placed between theback surface of the card and the front surface of the carrier. Adry-release adhesive is any suitable adhesive which allows the twomaterials it is in contact with to separate with relative ease, yet isnot reusable in the sense that the two objects will not adhere to oneanother once they are separated from one another.

[0011] Several alternative embodiments of the present invention aredisclosed herein. For example, a label is adhered to the card. In oneembodiment, the label is a single layer which may be transparent toallow viewing of the account-related indicia therethrough, and thescratch-off material is disposed on the label. Alternatively, theaccount-related indicia is disposed on the either side of the label.

[0012] In another embodiment of the present invention, the labelincludes two layers, and the scratch-off material is sandwiched betweenthe two layers. The layers are adhered to one another via a dry-releaseadhesive, and separated when the card is detached from the carrier.Further embodiments are described further herein.

[0013] A method for manufacturing the device of the present invention byproviding the various components described in detail below is alsodisclosed.

[0014] Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with thefollowing drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 2 is a rear view of the card of the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 3A is a side cross-sectional view of the card of oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 3B is a side cross-sectional view of the card of anotherembodiment of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 4A is a rear view of the card of the present invention afterseparation from the carrier.

[0020]FIG. 4B is a front view of the carrier of the present inventionafter separation from the card.

[0021]FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of another embodiment of thecard of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 6 is a front view of the carrier of another embodiment of thepresent invention after separation from the card.

[0023]FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the assembly of anotherembodiment of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 8A is a front view of an embodiment of the assembly of thepresent invention.

[0025]FIG. 8B is a side view of an embodiment of the assembly of thepresent invention.

[0026]FIG. 9A is a front view of another embodiment of the assembly ofthe present invention.

[0027]FIG. 9B is a side view of another embodiment of the assembly ofthe present invention.

[0028]FIG. 9C is a front view of yet another embodiment of the assemblyof the present invention.

[0029]FIG. 9D is a side view of another embodiment of the assembly ofthe present invention.

[0030]FIG. 10 is a front view of yet another embodiment of the assemblyof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in manydifferent forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein bedescribed in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with theunderstanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as anexemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intendedto limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodimentsillustrated.

[0032] In one embodiment of the present invention, a card packageassembly 10 includes a carrier 20 and a card 30. The carrier 20preferably includes a display hole 120. The card is adhered to a frontsurface 40 of the carrier 20. The card 30 includes account-relatedindicia thereon on its back surface 50. The account-related indicia isaffixed to or integral with the back surface 50 of the card 30. Theaccount-related indicia is concealed by scratch-off material 60 which isadhered to an inner region 70 of the back surface 50 of the card 30. Thescratch-off material 60 is removable to expose the indicia. The backsurface 50 of the card 30 is removably adhered to the front surface 40of the carrier 20 via a dry-release adhesive 80 placed between the backsurface 50 of the card 30 and the front surface 40 of the carrier 20.

[0033] In one embodiment, the dry-release adhesive 80 is placed adjacentan outer region 90 of the card 30 which excludes the inner region 70.Preferably, the dry-release adhesive 80 is disposed in a pattern 100which covers only a subset of the outer region 90 of the back surface 50of card 30. By pattern 100, it is intended that the dry-release adhesive80 cover the outer region 100 in an interspersed configuration to aid inseparation of the adhered elements.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, the carrier 20 further comprisessecondary indicia 110 on the front surface 40 of the carrier 20 which isconcealed by the card 30.

[0035] The assembly 10 of the present invention includes, but is notlimited to, several preferred configurations. First, as shown in FIG. 1,the card 30 is mounted to the carrier 20 entirely interior to the outerperimeter of the carrier 20. In another preferred embodiment, the backsurface 50 of the card 30 further comprises account-related information130 positioned on an exposable portion of the back surface 50 of thecard 30 wherein the exposable portion is exposable without detaching thecard 30 from the carrier 20. The account-related information 130 ispreferably a magnetic stripe, bar code, or in the form of anothermachine readable code.

[0036] In an alternative configuration, as shown in FIG. 10, theexposable portion overlaps an edge of said carrier 20 to enable theaccount to be activated at a check-out counter by swiping the card 30without removing it from the carrier 20. In another embodiment, theexposable portion overlaps a scored edge 140 of the carrier 20 such thatthe carrier 20 can be folded at the edge 140 to expose theaccount-related information 130.

[0037] In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9A-9D, theexposable portion overlaps a swing-out section 150 of the carrier 20.The swing-out section 150 is formed by cutting a portion of the carrier20 to allow the carrier 20 to be bent in order to expose the exposableportion without separating the card 30 from the carrier 20. Theswing-out section 150 is preferably positioned to swing from the bottomas shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, or from the top, as shown in FIGS. 9C and9D, as appropriate for the configuration of the card 30.

[0038] In any of the disclosed embodiments, a configuration in thecarrier 20 is optionally included to hold the card 30 in place once thecard 30 has been separated from the carrier 20. For example, a pair ofslits in carrier 20 optionally can hold card 30 in place afterseparation at the dry-release adhesive 80 has occurred.

[0039] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the card 30 hasa label 160 adhered to its back surface 50. The label 160 includeseither one or more layers. In one preferred embodiment, the label 160comprises a first layer 170 having a back surface adhered to the backsurface 50 of the card 30, preferably via a permanent adhesive 200, anda scratch-off material layer 60 placed on an inner region 180 of a frontsurface of the first layer 170 and concealing the account-relatedindicia. A permanent adhesive, as used herein, means one which adheresthe elements referred to in such a manner that they cannot be easilyseparated without damaging such elements. In this embodiment, the firstlayer 170 is optionally transparent so that the account-related indiciais visible therethrough. The account-related indicia is either placed onthe back surface 50 of the card 30, or on the back surface of the firstlayer 170. Alternatively, the account-related indicia can be placed onthe front surface of the first layer 170.

[0040] In such an embodiment, the first layer 170 is adhered directly tothe carrier, 25 as shown in FIG. 5 via a dry-release adhesive 80. Thedry-release adhesive 80 is preferably placed adjacent an outer region190 of the first layer 170 such that it does not cover the scratch-offmaterial 60. Ideally, the dry-release adhesive 80 is placed in a pattern100 as described above. Thus, the carrier 20 can be separated from thecard 20 without being easily reassembled, and scratch-off material 60 isexposed.

[0041] In yet a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the label 160 comprises a second layer 210which is adhered to the first layer 170, preferably via dry-releaseadhesive 80 in the manner described above. The back surface of thesecond layer 210 covers the scratch-off material 60. The front surfaceof the second layer 210 is adhered to the carrier 20, preferably via ahigh tack adhesive 220. A high tack adhesive, as used herein, is anadhesive which can be removed from a plastic surface such as the back ofa card 30 relatively easily without damaging the card 30. This ishelpful if, during production, an error is made in placing the adhesive,as the card 30 may be salvaged by removing the high tack adhesive fromthe card. Alternatively, the high tack adhesive can be replaced withanother adhesive such as a permanent adhesive. In these embodiments,manual separation of the card 30 from the carrier results in separationof the first layer 170 from the second layer 210, the first layer 170remaining adhered to the card 30 and the second layer 210 remainingadhered to the carrier 20.

[0042] In this embodiment, the secondary indicia 110 is disposed on thefront surface 40 of the carrier 20 or on the front surface of the secondlayer 210, in which case the second layer 210 is transparent such thatsecondary indicia 110 is visible through second layer 210.Alternatively, secondary indicia 110 can be disposed on the back surfaceof second layer 210.

[0043] In yet another preferred embodiment, referring to FIG. 3B, thesecond layer 210 is a multiple tiered layer having at least a first tier230 and a second tier 240. Preferably, the first tier 230 is a filmmember 230 and the second tier 240 is a paper member 240. These twotiers are preferably permanently adhered to one another. The film member230 is optionally transparent, and secondary indicia 110 is disposedeither on the front surface of the film member 230 which faces towardthe paper member 240, or on the back surface of the paper member 240which faces toward the film member 230. In either case, film member 230is transparent such that the secondary indicia 110 is visibletherethrough. Alternatively, the secondary indicia 110 is disposed onthe back surface of the film member 230.

[0044] In these embodiments, the second layer 210 of the label 160 ispreferably adhered to the front surface of the carrier 20 via anadhesive 220 disposed only within an area covered by the second layer210.

[0045] A method for manufacturing a card package assembly 10 is alsowithin the scope of the present invention. The method comprises thesteps of providing a card 30 to be mounted on a carrier 20 for displayand sale, permanently adhering a first layer 170 of a label 160 to aback surface of the card 30, disposing a removable scratch-off material60 on an inner region 180 of a front surface of the first layer 170 toconceal account-related indicia, the scratch-off material 60 beingremovable to reveal the account-related indicia, removably adhering thefront surface of the first layer 170 to a back surface of a second layer210 of a label using a dry-release adhesive 80 disposed on an outerportion 190 of the front surface of the first layer 170, and adhering afront surface of a carrier 20 to a front surface of the second layer210, wherein manual separation of the card 30 from the carrier 20results in separation of the first layer 170 from the second layer 210,the first layer 170 remaining adhered to the card 30 and the secondlayer 210 remaining adhered to the carrier 20. The step of removablyadhering the front surface of the first layer 170 to a back surface of asecond layer 210 of a label 160 using a dry-release adhesive 8 0preferably further comprises applying the dry-release adhesive 8 0 in apattern 100 covering only a subset of the outer portion 190 of the frontsurface of the first layer 170. Also, the step of adhering a frontsurface of a carrier 20 to a front surface of the second layer 210preferably further comprises using a high tack adhesive 220 on a portionof the carrier 20 which is entirely covered by the second layer 210.

[0046] While the specific embodiments have been illustrated anddescribed, numerous modifications come to mind without significantlydeparting from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protectionis only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A card package assembly comprising: a carrier forholding a card having a front surface, a card having a back surfacewhich has account-related indicia thereon, said account-related indiciabeing concealed by a scratch-off material layer adhered to an innerregion of the back surface of said card, wherein said scratch-offmaterial is removable to reveal said indicia, wherein the back surfaceof said card is removably adhered to the front surface of said carriervia a dry-release adhesive placed between the back surface of said cardand the front surface of said carrier.
 2. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 1, wherein said dry-release adhesive is placedadjacent an outer portion of the back surface of said card whichexcludes the inner region of the back surface of said card.
 3. The cardpackage assembly according to claim 2, wherein said dry-release adhesiveis placed in a pattern which covers only a subset of the outer portionof the back surface of said card.
 4. The card package assembly accordingto claim 1, wherein said carrier further comprises secondary indicia onthe front surface of said carrier which is concealed by said card. 5.The card package assembly according to claim 1, wherein said carrierfurther comprises a display hole for holding said assembly on a display.6. The card package assembly according to claim 1, wherein said card ismounted to said carrier entirely interior to the outer perimeter of saidcarrier.
 7. The card package assembly according to claim 1, wherein theback surface of said card further comprises account-related informationpositioned on an exposable portion of the back surface of said cardwherein said exposable portion is exposable without detaching said cardfrom said carrier.
 8. The card package assembly according to claim 7,wherein said account-related information is in the form of a magneticstripe.
 9. The card package assembly according to claim 7, wherein saidaccount-related information is in the form of a bar code.
 10. The cardpackage assembly according to claim 7, wherein said exposable portionoverlaps an edge of said carrier.
 11. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 7, wherein said exposable portion overlaps a scorededge of said carrier.
 12. The card package assembly according to claim7, wherein said exposable portion overlaps an edge of a swing-outsection of said carrier.
 13. A card package assembly comprising: acarrier for holding a card having a front surface, a card having a backsurface, a label adhered to the back surface of said card, wherein saidlabel comprises a first layer having a back surface which is adhered tothe back surface of said card, and a scratch-off material layer placedon an inner region of a front surface of said first layer and concealingaccount-related indicia, wherein said scratch-off material is removableto reveal said indicia, and wherein said card is removably adhered tothe front surface of said carrier via a dry-release adhesive.
 14. Thecard package assembly according to claim 13, wherein said dry-releaseadhesive is placed adjacent an outer portion of the front surface ofsaid first layer which excludes the inner region of the front surface ofsaid first layer.
 15. The card package assembly according to claim 14,wherein said dry-release adhesive is placed in a pattern which coversonly a subset of the outer portion of the front surface of said firstlayer.
 16. The card package assembly according to claim 13, wherein saidcarrier further comprises secondary indicia on the front surface of saidcarrier which is concealed by said card.
 17. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 13, wherein said carrier further comprises a displayhole for holding said assembly on a display.
 18. The card packageassembly according to claim 13, wherein said card is mounted to saidcarrier entirely interior to the outer perimeter of said carrier. 19.The card package assembly according to claim 13, wherein the backsurface of said card further comprises account-related informationpositioned on an exposable portion of the back surface of said cardwherein said exposable portion is exposable without detaching said cardfrom said carrier.
 20. The card package assembly according to claim 19,wherein said account-related information is in the form of a magneticstripe.
 21. The card package assembly according to claim 19, whereinsaid account-related information is in the form of a bar code.
 22. Thecard package assembly according to claim 19, wherein said exposableportion overlaps an edge of said carrier.
 23. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 19, wherein said exposable portion overlaps a scorededge of said carrier.
 24. The card package assembly according to claim19, wherein said exposable portion overlaps an edge of a swing-outsection of said carrier.
 25. The card package assembly according toclaim 13, wherein said indicia is disposed on the inner region of thefront surface of said first layer.
 26. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 13, wherein said first layer is transparent, andwherein said indicia is disposed on the back surface of said firstlayer.
 27. The card package assembly according to claim 13, wherein saidfirst layer is transparent, and wherein said indicia is disposed on theback surface of said card.
 28. The card package assembly according toclaim 13, wherein the back surface of said first layer is adhered to theback surface of said card via a permanent adhesive.
 29. A card packageassembly comprising: a carrier for holding a card having a frontsurface, a card having a back surface, a label adhered to the backsurface of said card, wherein said label comprises a first layer havinga back surface which is adhered to the back surface of said card, ascratch-off material layer placed on an inner region of a front surfaceof said first layer and concealing account-related indicia wherein saidscratch-off material is removable to reveal said indicia, and a secondlayer having a back surface removably adhered to the front surface ofsaid first layer via a dry-release adhesive, wherein a front surface ofsaid second layer is adhered to the front surface of said carrier, andwherein manual separation of said card from said carrier results inseparation of said first layer from said second layer, said first layerremaining adhered to said card and said second layer remaining adheredto said carrier.
 30. The card package assembly according to claim 29,wherein said dry-release adhesive is placed adjacent an outer portion ofthe front surface of said first layer which excludes the inner region ofthe front surface of said first layer.
 31. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 30, wherein said dry-release adhesive is placed in apattern which covers only a subset of the outer portion of the frontsurface of said first layer.
 32. The card package assembly according toclaim 29, wherein said carrier further comprises secondary indicia onthe front surface of said carrier which is concealed by said card,wherein said second layer is transparent, and wherein said secondaryindicia is visible through said second layer once said card is manuallydetached from said carrier.
 33. The card package assembly according toclaim 29, further comprising secondary indicia on the back surface ofsaid second layer.
 34. The card package assembly according to claim 29,further comprising secondary indicia on the front surface of said secondlayer, wherein said second layer is transparent, and wherein saidsecondary indicia is visible through said second layer once said card ismanually detached from said carrier.
 35. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 29, wherein said carrier further comprises a displayhole for holding said assembly on a display.
 36. The card packageassembly according to claim 29, wherein said card is mounted to saidcarrier entirely interior to the outer perimeter of said carrier. 37.The card package assembly according to claim 29, wherein the backsurface of said card further comprises account-related informationpositioned on an exposable portion of the back surface of said cardwherein said exposable portion is exposable without detaching said cardfrom said carrier.
 38. The card package assembly according to claim 37,wherein said account-related information is in the form of a magneticstripe.
 39. The card package assembly according to claim 37, whereinsaid account-related information is in the form of a bar code.
 40. Thecard package assembly according to claim 37, wherein said exposableportion overlaps an edge of said carrier.
 41. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 37, wherein said exposable portion overlaps a scorededge of said carrier.
 42. The card package assembly according to claim37, wherein said exposable portion overlaps an edge of a swing-outsection of said carrier.
 43. The card package assembly according toclaim 29, wherein said indicia is disposed on the inner region of thefront surface of said first layer.
 44. The card package assemblyaccording to claim 29, wherein said first layer is transparent, andwherein said indicia is disposed on the back surface of said firstlayer.
 45. The card package assembly according to claim 29, wherein saidfirst layer is transparent, and wherein said indicia is disposed on theback surface of said card.
 46. The card package assembly according toclaim 29, wherein the back surface of said first layer is adhered to theback surface of said card via a permanent adhesive.
 47. The card packageassembly according to claim 29, wherein the front surface of said secondlayer is adhered to the front surface of said carrier via a high tackadhesive.
 48. The card package assembly according to claim 29, whereinsaid second layer is a multiple tiered layer having at least a firsttier disposed toward said card and a second tier disposed away from saidcard.
 49. The card package assembly according to claim 48, wherein saidfirst tier is a film member and said second tier is a paper member. 50.The card package assembly according to claim 49, wherein a front surfaceof said first tier is permanently adhered to a back surface of saidsecond tier.
 51. The card package assembly according to claim 50,wherein said film member is transparent, and further comprisingsecondary indicia on the front surface of said film member which isvisible through said film member once said card is manually separatedfrom said carrier.
 52. The card package assembly according to claim 50,wherein said film member is transparent, and further comprisingsecondary indicia on the back surface of said paper member which isvisible through said film member once said card is manually separatedfrom said carrier.
 53. The card package assembly according to claim 29,wherein the front surface of said second layer is adhered to the frontsurface of said carrier via a permanent adhesive.
 54. The card packageassembly according to claim 29, wherein the front surface of said secondlayer is adhered to the front surface of said carrier via an adhesivedisposed only within an area covered by said second layer.
 55. The cardpackage assembly according to claim 31, wherein the front surface ofsaid second layer is adhered to the front surface of said carrier via ahigh tack adhesive disposed only within an area covered by said secondlayer, wherein said second layer is a multiple tiered layer having atleast a first tier disposed toward said card and a second tier disposedaway from said card, wherein said first tier is a film member and saidsecond tier is a paper member, wherein a front surface of said firsttier is permanently adhered to a back surface of said second tier.
 56. Amethod for manufacturing a card package assembly comprising the stepsof: providing a card to be mounted on a carrier for display and sale,permanently adhering a first layer of a label to a back surface of saidcard, disposing a removable scratch-off material on an inner region of afront surface of said first layer to conceal account-related indicia,said scratch-off material being removable to reveal said account-relatedindicia, removably adhering the front surface of said first layer to aback surface of a second layer of a label using a dry-release adhesivedisposed on an outer portion of the front surface of said first layer,adhering a front surface of a carrier to a front surface of said secondlayer, wherein manual separation of said card from said carrier resultsin separation of said first layer from said second layer, said firstlayer remaining adhered to said card and said second layer remainingadhered to said carrier.
 57. The method for manufacturing a card packageassembly according to claim 56, wherein the step of removably adheringthe front surface of said first layer to a back surface of a secondlayer of a label using a dry-release adhesive further comprises applyingthe dry-release adhesive in a pattern covering only a subset of theouter portion of the front surface of said first layer.
 58. The methodfor manufacturing a card package assembly according to claim 56, whereinthe step of adhering a front surface of a carrier to a front surface ofsaid second layer further comprises using a high tack adhesive on aportion of the carrier which is entirely covered by said second layer.